CASTLE COMBE – OCTOBER 3RD
Healey Drivers International have an invitation race with a great field of Healeys, mainly Big ones but including 3 special Sprites: Richard Woolmer (?BXN or PMO) Gordon Elwell (MEG) and the Lenham GT of circuit PR man, John Moon from Bath, not seen since its fiery accident at Silverstone in 2010. Graham Robson is sharing a drive in a Healey 100/4.
WHAT COLOUR SHOCKS?
Sean Sandow is re-building an original-looking Mk1 Sprite with period Sebring upgrades. These include a pair of adjustable rear shock absorbers. He asks what their original colour would have been. He has seen red, black, and unpainted with black arms. His have traces of blue paint the same as 2080PO (before restoration). Feedback please.
ARMSTRONG ADJUSTABLES
for sale on ebay
fetched £520.13
on 28 Sept
PMO (John Sprinzel and WJB (Ian Walker) in this lovely shot from the 6-Hour Relay at Silverstone in 1961
[Joe Armour]
ANYONE GOT A REAR WINDOW GLASS FOR AN ASHLEY HARDTOP? Please contact Hugo Huissen (NL)
COLIN BARNETT needs a top half for his 1275 rear main bearing. Anyone got one lying around, please contact him
Watch it on YouTube
PIERRE LEQUEUX TOOK 2080 PO TO FIRLE HILL CLIMB
He had a “superb Sunday at the Firle Hill Revival, a hillclimb that stopped in 1967 and has been revived by a few local characters. As my car participated in both the 1966 and 1967 events it was invited to take part. They had no MSA license this year so it was not a competing event but rather more a show event….great fun anyhow and also for a good cause… all information on the event can be find on the Bo Peep website Hopefully it will become an ongoing event and they will get an MSA license for it next year”.
WILL CORRY ON YOU TUBE
at the Cultra Hill Climb
Link
STEPHEN BOWEN on those oil leaks, see “Your Comments”
More photos of RTL 304 – Zolder 1980, above, in Peter Warne’s ownership, right, and at Thruxton 2002, and Meldreth 2010 below
WJB 707 – a “new” photo
of the car at Prescott in 1963 or 4 driven by GSP (??) [Sent in by Chris Keeble, dated by Stephen Bowen]
RICHARD ROOKS’ SPEEDWELL GT is featured in an interview on YouTube at the British Car Festival in the States.
SPEEDWELL GT TO AUCTION
2824 MV owned by Jeff Brenner is to be offered for sale in October by Bonhams
£45/58,000
LOVELY PERIOD STEERING WHEEL ON RTL 304
assembled by Chris Keeble a couple of years ago with a minimal centre.
HOW GORDON HIGGS CREATED HIS INLET MANIFOLDS
Gordon has been rebuilding these H4s for his Sebring Rep – the manifold stubs are made from a much modified MGA manifold. A little shorter than the originals but look very similar. He will need a new LCB exhaust manifold before they can be fitted.
While I have many of your email addresses I don’t actually know where many of you live. I have a guy called Jim interested in building his own Sebring who would like to meet up with someone who has a completed car and would show him around it. He lives at Ashbourne in Derbyshire and works at Buxton near Manchester so can I please hear from one of you in one of those approximate areas who would be willing to assist, please. Much appreciated. Feedback please.
IVO CAPPON kindly supplied this photo of RTL 304 at Zandvoort in 1981. (Photo: Ferret Fotographics)
HEALEY INLETS
Anyone know of a source as Lubbert Mussche also wants these for his H4 SUs. Email if you can help.
WANTED – BENTLEY REAR LIGHTS
Lubbert Mussche is assembling the former Meredith Hutchings Fastback Sebring and needs a pair of rear lights like these Email if you can help.
BUGEYES FOR SALE
2 former SCCA racers are up for sale in the USA. $3500 for the pair, both needing restoration. One has significant race history. See more.
ROBERT KANSA’S REPLY TO TONY GIORDANO’S SLIGHTLY CHEEKY OFFER EARLIER:
Martin, Thank you for the letter. I can’t deny the truth in Tony’s offer. A real works Sprite could indeed have a much greater value in the future. Maybe. But starting at the 40K asking price and adding $20-30k more for proper restoration I would never be able to afford such a car and be afraid to take it out of the garage. Yet alone the eventual alimony I would need to pay my wife for such a purchase. Seriously though we plan on using our Sprite we are building in race and rally events as well as for street shows etc. If we bought a real works Sprite we would be seriously afraid of damaging a car we would have so much money in. Besides, the basis of our Sprite was in the family for the last 20 years and it has a certain sentimental value. It will never have the value as a “real” one but that’s OK with us. Thank you again for the offer – we hope Tony’s Sprite goes to the correct buyer. Robert
TREVOR McIlroy’s ‘S 2015 EVENTS
“Martin, please find enclosed three images of my limited outings with XXC818 this season. In order : Cultra Hill Climb Co Down Northern Ireland., Bo’ ness Hill Climb Scotland, and awarded ‘Best Prepared Race Car’ Trophy at Bo’ness. Regards T.McI. Belfast.”
PIERRE’S RACING EXPLOITS
“Despite having had to rebuild the topside of my engine due to a bent valve, bent pushrod and dented piston just a couple of days before the event I managed to participate in the Brighton Speed trials. The weather was not great and the track was wet so I tried to establish the quickest “sideaway” time on my first rung for the amusement of the crowd….. on my timed run I finished 8th out of 54 cars in the handicap class. Just 0.01 of a second slower than last year….some improvements to look forward to for next year I guess…It would be nice if more Sebrings were to show at the event next year…you just need a registration to the Brighton and Hove Motor Club and a a non-race MSA licence to take part (+a Nomex suit and an helmet of course…).,,,it is really a great fun day. Anyhow in respect of the engine, I will now steer clear of bronze manganese valve guides as after reading from various forums they seem to be the cause of much problems if the tolerances are too tight….they expand at 1.5 times the rate of the head…with obvious consequences….so really maybe the cast iron guides or other materials may be safer after all…. Pierre”
PMO 200 UPDATE
I have now included the period in which Malcolm Sears owned the car.
View the PMO web page
Not Sprite-related but GRAHAM ROBSON (who races a WSM) tells me that he will be having a drive in a Fiat Abarth 1500 S prepared to FIA/HTP spec and recently rebuilt by Paul Woolmer. The car is seen here on the rolling road before testing at Goodwood for the Revival. The car will be driven by BTCC star Sam Tordoff and Graham will drive it on the Sunday. He doesn’t think it will be a threat to the Lotus Cortinas or Alfa GTAs. Former owner of his WSM, Brian Arculus, is driving the Lotus 6 Climax which my brother John recently sold him – in the Fordwater Trophy .
TONY’S SUGGESTION!!
Hey Martin, Instead of Mr Robert Kansa building a “replica” who might never see his investment money in return , a suggestion might be to buy my “real works spec Sprite”, with a real documented race experimental engine and race/restore this…the value added is immeasurable and it will retain its value for the future…just a thought.
Always buy a real one if you can!!!
Tony Giordano.
GARY LAZARUS REPORTS (see photos above):
[That bonnet on 1770 PQ mentioned by Roger Friend] Yes, you’re right. It’s not a Peamarsh. However, in my Peamarsh folder, I have this image (attached), which I mistook for a a Peamarsh. It looks very similar to the one on your website, with the smaller (5 inch?) headlights. The only problem being I have no idea where I got hold of this image or what it is. Also attached some other images of the Japanese ASHLEY with W & P bonnet. Again not my images I’m afraid. Talking of unknown tops and fronts, does anyone know what this top is on what looks to be on a French registered (yellow) Sprite.
JUERGEN’S STEERING WHICH REFUSED TO SELF-CENTRE
Hello Martin, Ssorry for long pause in communication, but I did not want to confuse the world more with my little problem without new facts. But now we have some, the mystery of the missing castor seems to have found a solution and the castor seems to be innocent. Due to problems with TUEV/MoT about too many mods, I have to take out the very powerful Peter May engine and fit an 1100 cc smallbore as originally documented with 55 hp in the car. In preparation of this action I obviously had to get a lot of peripheral equipment out of the way, which gave me a much clearer picture of the suspension and steering. The little app. 5mm thick spacer behind one of the brackets holding the steering rack was fitted to the wrong side due to a mis-interpretation of the drawing in the manual by myself, now I can turn the wheel with my little finger easily and once the various stiffnesses in the suspension are also cured – the stuff was lying in my garage since mid 2011, I’m convinced all will be fine. I only wonder how accurate and useful the scientific laser-aided castor measurement is.
Thank you and the forum for all the good advice and good will. Regards, Juergen (Schaeffer)
CAN ANYONE HELP SVEN WITH HIS ENGINE OIL LEAKS?
Re: John Poulter`s comment – I have stripped my bored 1098 engine (10cc). I think they, as well as 1275s, have the set-up John describes but the eEarly 1098 and 948 engines have a thinner back plate and the cover is soldered on to it from the outside. I was going to convert back to the scroll. However Wolfgang, my local engineer, has increased the radius on the rear of the main cap which usually sits right against the scroll so I cant go back to it. Has anybody got any experience with the MED conversion which is different to the one Peter May is doing in that the seal runs against the area between the scroll area and the crankshaft boss? Does anybody know whether the scroll on 1275s and 2 inch 1098s is the same diameter (54.4 mm on the 1098)? I have a nice powerful engine which is let down by the fact it has a really heavy rear oil leak. Sven (Eckhardt).
ENX 415C ex-works streamliner in its Richard Groves livery in the 1966 1000kms at the Nurburgring, where Clive Baker and John Moore finished 20th, and 2nd in class.
SEBRING HUBS
should be arriving on your doorsteps about now.
Robert Kansa of Southwind Racing in Ohio is building
a 1960 Sebring Sprite replica for vintage racing, road rallies and occasional street use. He says “The car will meet all vintage racing specifications here in the States when finished. It has it’s own Facebook page with pictures of the rebuild, its rebuild log and activities. Unfortunately due to typical budget constraints it is a slow process”.
Pete Fletcher taking part in the Scarborough Olivers Mount hill-climb 2 weeks ago. Off to a sprint at Aintree this weekend he first has to retrieve an unleaded insert dropped into No.2 cylinder!!
Alistair Ross asks whether anyone might know when and where this photo of his Speedwell GT was taken?
Feedback
Alan Anstead tells me: “Keith Calver now does a rear crankshaft oil seal for the 1275 engine. He is technical advisor for Mini Magazine and trades as Calver ST“.
Engine oil leaks
Going on from Sven’s comments last month, John Poulter writes (right):
I wonder why BMC didn’t use this design on the 1275.
“I can’t understand why there should be heavy leaks from around the oil pump cover requiring the cover to be soldered. There is a paper gasket between the pump and block and another around all of the pump and backplate so where would the oil come from unless it’s somehow coming through the back of the pump if it’s a two piece design. I have a 1275 Marina engine where the oil pump cover just rests in a machined groove in the backplate – no gaskets, no seal and no oil leaks on the back of the engine either. I wondered if I was having a senior and grey moment ( I can just do grey at present!) I can understand oil leaking past the scroll and down the flywheel side of the backplate. I have attached a photo of the Payen seal and carrier used on the BMC tractor with 948cc diesel engine for your interest. This was designed and running in 1962. Regards John”
[When I rebuilt my 1098 engine the pump cover was loose and I merely used a smear of instant gasket to seal it. I think John may be right and it shouldn’t leak there. I have tried two of the conversion kits to fit a seal on the tail of the crankshaft and despite careful assembly both leaked quite severely. Back to the drawing board. MEI]
‘NEW’ PHOTOS OF PMO 200
Paul Sears sent me these pictures of his father, Malcolm, racing PMO 200 at Brands Hatch in 1968 – one more owner to add to the list. By this time the car was registered 248 DXN but the reversed 200 PMO seems to have been used by him in racing.
All British display day ~ news South Wales, Australia ~ 30th August 2015 (photos: Joe Armour)
Denis Best’s racing Lenham Le Mans with another example, and Colin Dodds’ Lenham GTO with round arches.
Neil Blaney’s Sebring Rep on the road for the first time
THE most important
ex-works Healey
3.8 Jaguar-engined Fright
